Owlbear and Wizard’s Staff 2024

This mini con in Leamington Spa organised by Matt Broome is an annual highlight for me, and well worth the trip from Sheffield. The train journey was reasonably pain free and after checking into the Regent Hotel (remarkably grand for a Travelodge) it was just a short walk to the Royal Pug where the grog squad was assembling. I bumped into my pal Susan en route for the first time in real life after playing Dragonbane together for a year and then enjoyed some nice beer at eye watering southern prices. It was nice to see a couple of younger faces who I think had heard about the con via the student community and came along to say hello and introduce themselves.

Another short walk on Saturday morning to the St Patrick’s Irish Club overlooking the River Leam which is a great place to play games, with bright, airy function rooms and very reasonably priced Guinness on tap. My morning game was a Doctor Who game called Paradise Lost run by Blythy . We were playing as fifth Doctor era characters (the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and me as insufferable maths nerd Adric) getting chased by dinosaurs and investigating a mysterious domed community. I really enjoyed the way the system emphasises talking and creative puzzle solving over combat, with companions getting extra story points to spend to tip the odds in tricky situations. Lloyd Gyan was a standout star as the Doctor, saving the day with impassioned speeches and judicious use of the sonic screwdriver. 

Lunch was the now traditional endless supply of samosas with a choice of chicken, lamb and vegetable fillings with plenty to go round and a welcome boost of energy for the afternoon session. I stuck with the sci fi theme, playing as a Klingon in Steve Ray’s Star Trek adventures game which featured timey wimey shenanigans for our crew seeking the blessing of the fabled Oracle of Bar’koth Reach. The system uses a balance of momentum and threat levels as we shot, sliced and diced our way though our enemies. We were given a choice of Klingon phrases to shout at appropriate moments for a bonus, which left me with a very croaky voice! Great fun and a system I certainly want to try again.

Back to the hotel for a quick nap before heading out again for more beer, food and chat at the White Horse. The pub did seem to get quite noisy after 8:00pm so I was struggling to hear anybody talking - one of the perils of getting old, so I called it a night. 

I wasn’t playing anything on Sunday morning, so I just went to St Patrick’s to say farewell to people before heading home, enjoying the glorious September sunshine. Cheers to Matt for running and see you next year!